“Please, George. Convince them to give me a week. I swear, I won’t ask for a second more.”
“I can’t do that, Susan. You know I’ve stretched this pitch for as long as I could. I’m walking on thin ice with the Board as well.”
“I know that, George. And you’ve been amazing. But it’s just impossible to have another pitch ready by tomorrow.”
“You’re a smart woman, Susan. You’ll figure it out.”
“Please, George-”
“You have till tomorrow. Don’t let us down.” And with that final note, he walked away.
I clutched my briefcase tightly, sure that my knuckles had turned white with how hard I gripped it and made my way down the steps and out of B&B Corp. I couldn’t believe that I stood the risk of losing my job after pouring fourteen years of my life into it.
The last two years had been trying and I guess I was not able to let all the calamities I’d faced pass over my head. Four months ago, I’d watched the man I’d dedicated seven years of my life to get married to a woman that up until three days prior had been saved as “Work.”
I brushed it off like I’d brushed everything that happened to me before then but I guess that was the straw that broke the camel’s back because my life took downward spiral after that. Now I had barely twenty four hours to prove to these people why they needed to retain me. Any more fuck ups and I would be financially destitute as well as all the other things I already am.
The sun was blazing ahead as I walked down Winston street towards my apartment. It would have been a wonderful weather if not for the fact that my head was a rollercoaster at the moment. I heard loud clapping from a building to my left and paused to peer in. They were adults and children with musical instruments prancing about. After every few minutes, one of the kids would go to the middle and perform.
“You can come in, you know,” a voice said from beside me. I jerked back in embarrassment as I realized that I’d been looking in like a weirdo.
“Oh, I’m alright,” I said to the smiley faced woman. “I was just leaving anyway.”
“You sure? These kids are crazily talented. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”
I hesitated. I needed to get started on my final pitch to the board but at the same time I dreaded going back home to the quietness of my house and give room to the malicious voices in my head. I turned to the woman who was still looking at me with a smile on her face. “Sure, why not.”
As I stepped in, I took in the bright environment and noticed immediately that just like the woman who’d invited me in, just about everyone had a smile on their face. Somehow, that brought peace to my heart. I found myself smiling unconsciously as well. A round of applause brought me back to reality and I saw a boy of about seven that from all indications had wowed the audience with his clarinet-playing skills give his Mom a hug.
Someone cleared their throats and moved to the middle of the room. “Next, we call on Aubrey Jonas.”
A girl in the crowd gasped and ran out of the room and into the back, a woman hot on her heels. I guessed that that must have been the Aubrey and instinctively, I made my way to where I saw them head.
“I can’t, Mom. Not with Jackie. I can’t do it.” I was taken aback. First by the mother’s pleading looks as she knelt in front of her daughter, but most of all at the raw pain that reverberated from the little girl’s voice. I stepped closer.
“Is everything alright, Ma’am?”
The woman wiped her eyes before turning to me. Sniffling a bit, she said. “We lost her stuffed doll, Jackie, a few weeks ago. She hasn’t recovered from it cause she carries it everywhere. I’m trying to tell her that she can play without it but...”
“Jackie wasn’t just a stuffed toy, Mom!” Aubrey finally said, blue eyes shining with tears. “Dad gave her to me.” Her voice cracked. “I can’t do this without her.”
“Baby, you can,” her Mom interjected.
“I can’t do this without Jackie!” Aubrey yelled.
It was time to step in. “Hey, Pretty girl.” I said to her.
“I’m not doing it,” she mumbled to herself.
“And you don’t have to.” Her Mom liked she wanted to cut in but I gave her a sign to hold on. “But then no one would get to see this beautiful blue dress of yours.”
I could tell she was taken aback. “What?”
“You know, this is my first time here. The second I walked in, I noticed a girl who had the most beautiful dress with wings on it. She reminded me of an angel.”
Aubrey gave me a dubious look. “And who was she?”
“I don’t know. Who else has the most beautiful blue dress in the room?” I gave her a placating smile.
She smiled back but it wavered a bit at the end. “I can’t do it without Jackie, Miss. I just can’t.”
I took a deep breath. “You know, I may be out of my job tomorrow cause I’m too scared to do a presentation as well.”
“But you’re a big girl, Miss.”
“Big girls can be just as scared as little girls, sweetie. But do you know what could give me the courage to do that presentation?”
“If I do mine as well, right?”
I beamed. “Exactly. So, will you do it for a friend?”
She giggled. “I don’t even know your name.”
I laughed. “It’s Susan.”
“Okay, Miss Susan. So you’re saying if I can go and perform, you’ll do your presentation?”
“Yes.”
“Scout’s honour?”
I placed a hand on my chest. “Scout’s honour.”
Watching Aubrey perform with her violin. The sheer look of concentration brought tears to my eyes. The wings at the back of her dress gave her an ethereal glow in the bright room. A true angel. She’d conquered her fears and brilliantly at that. Giving one last look to her Mom who beamed at me with grateful eyes, I stepped out of the building. It was time to conquer my fears as well.
What I See?
A little girl playing a violin with an intense look of concentration on her face.
What I Feel?
Hope. Focus. Courage.
Jhymi🖤
Thumbnail supplied by @wakeupkitty.
